Life, Family, Home
by Daladakea
Summary: Cisco's family criticized him for every little thing, while endlessly praising his brother Dante in the show. One became what he was made, the other chose his own path. Cisco mentions in the series that STAR Labs is the only place he feels like he belongs. Here's a fic inspired by Treasure Planet's I'm Still Here.


_I am a question to the world,_

 _Not an answer to be heard,_

 _or a moment, that's held in your arms._

Ten year old Cisco watched the annual Christmas piano recital by his piano prodigy brother Dante. Dante looked happy playing the sweet notes to Winter Wonderland. Afterwards, he was praised heavily. Nobody even knew Cisco was there. He went up and tried to play a few notes, but it sounded terrible, and they told him that he'd been a bad boy for pushing the keys too hard.

He hadn't known there was a certain pressure. He was sent to his room in any case. As he sat in the cooler attic room, he shivered in the dark and wondered why(to his ten year old mind.) nobody loved him. He'd even tried to copy everything Dante did, to no avail.

 _And what do you think you'd ever say,_

 _I won't listen anyway._

 _You don't know me,_

 _and I'll never be what you want,_

 _me to be._

Twelve year old Cisco, hurting over the latest infraction and subsequent punishment, decided that whatever Dante was, he would be the opposite.

"Cisco! Be a good boy and pass me the sponge for the car!" Dante said smiling at him.

Cisco waited until Dante turned and then sprayed him with the hose and took off down the street for the playground. Why should he have to help Dante wash the family car? He wasn't invited to go to the art and music museum with them, so why should he work for that when he could play? Dante stared at his brother in shock, and thought about going after him to see what was bothering him, but decided that Cisco needed to play. Oh how wrong he was.

 _And what do you think you understand?_

 _I'm a boy, no I'm a man,_

 _You can't take me and throw me away._

Fourteen year old Cisco felt like garbage. Dante was dating a girl and he was always cleaning his clothes and shiny new car that didn't need waxing every two hours. His parents watched Dante drive off to the movies with his girl with pride, then looked at Cisco and wondered aloud to each other what the boy's problem was.

 _And how can you learn what's never shown?_

 _Yeah you stand here on your own, they don't know me,_

 _'Cause I'm not here._

 _And I want a moment to be real,_

 _Want to touch things I don't feel,_

 _Want to hold on and feel I belong._

 _And how can the world want me to change?_

 _They're the ones that stay the same!_

 _They don't know me, but I'm still here!_

Twenty year old Cisco had been kicked out of home, told he was leeching off his family. He knew it was true, but Dante had stayed until just this year, when he was twenty two.

Apparently, that was what caused his family to think it was time for Cisco to leave too. Cisco still had no job, he'd been laid off from the museum staff due to a recession. He badly wanted to do something in science, he was always a scifi fan and wanted to make some the fictional tech reality. But nobody had noticed him or tried to teach him how.

He walked on his own through a few empty streets, rain pouring down, thunder rumbling in the distance,a sure sign the there'd be much lightning later. He didn't have anywhere to weather the storm He was all alone.

He desperately wanted a hug, something that had been foreign to him since he was maybe six. He wanted someone to tell him that he'd be fine, that someone cared whether he lived or died.

He didn't understand why his family was rushing him into living on his own, he'd had a job, been paying his way, was saving up for a home, but they'd ended his plans and now he was out of a job.

He'd changed. He'd decided that he wouldn't let Dante define him, opposite, similar, both, neither.

He'd be his own man, now and forever. He'd changed, so why hadn't they? Why were they telling him to grow up, move away, be something? They'd been saying the same things for years.

He sat by the curb and cried. He didn't know how long he sat there, tears trickling down his cheeks. But at some point, he realized that the rain was no longer hitting him. He sniffled and looked up.

A man was holding an umbrella up over him. The man moved to stand in a beam of light from a streetlight, and Cisco saw it was the man he'd dreamed of meeting since he was thirteen and taken an interest in science. Dr. Harrison Wells. The man bent down and asked,

"Why are you out here in this weather? Shouldn't you be home?"

"I don't have one as of today."

The man put out his hand to help Cisco up. "You do now." Dr. Wells said. Cisco felt hope and happiness overwhelm him. Tear still trailed down his cheeks, but now, they were happy ones.

 _And you see the things they never see,_

 _All you wanted I could be,_

 _Now you know me and I'm not afraid._

 _And I want to tell you who I am._

 _Can you help me be a man_

 _They can't break me, as long as I know who I am!_

Once Cisco understood how things were expected to be done, studied the math and knew the science, Dr. Wells would let him study and work late in the lab. Cisco would take these opportunities very seriously. He did everything right, the first time, and tried to make triple checks on everything.

He wanted dearly to impress his hero. There were often times where he'd worked too late and fallen asleep in the lab. Most often these nights, Dr. Wells would be making his final check of the labs and such and would come across the sleeping scientist. He'd chuckle to himself and would grab a blanket from the closet he'd built into the wall secretly just for this purpose, an wrap it around and tuck it around Cisco carefully and tenderly. Cisco woke and caught him once, but chose pretend not notice.

But inside he was giddy with delight. Someone cared abut him! And the cool part, his hero was the one to care! It was like a movie situation, he mused to himself as he fell asleep again.

 _They can't tell me who to be_

 _'Cause I'm not what they see!_

 _Yeah, the world is still sleeping,_

 _while I keep on dreaming for me!_

 _And their words are just whispers and lies that I'll never believe!_

Caitlin was very serious about going to Dante's birthday party. Of course, someone picked on him for being a scientist instead of a musical wonder. Would they ever learn?

 _And I want a moment to be real_

 _Want to touch things I don't feel!_

 _Want to hold on and feel I belong!_

 _And how can they say I never change?_

 _They're the ones who stay the same!_

 _I'm the one now, 'cause I'm still here!_

 _I'm still here! I'm still here! I'm still here._

He'd done it. He'd said the unsayable. To the very kind of person they couldn't have said it to. He'd told Barry's identity. To Captain Cold. And Barry forgave him. Gave him a hug. A hug! The one thing that he never expected to feel again, the one thing he'd wanted so much as a kid. After his betrayal of them! At first, he wanted to leave, didn't think he should put these people, this family, in danger anymore. But then Dr. Wells spoke to him, made him see reason.

They were his family. He had a job. He knew himself. He had a life. He was home. And for the first time, he understood the meaning of, "Home is where the heart is."

 **A/N Hope you liked it! Reviews are very much appreciated. :)**


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